Today marks the seventh anniversary of my running streak.
My old self continues to question what I am doing.
At what point is this “healthy” streak just an exercise in stupidity?
My longest-going streak is also my most demanding.
A minimum of an hour of every day is dedicated to running. We’re looking at closer to two hours, including changing clothes, fully emptying my bladder and bowels, and procrastinating.
I watched my oldest child end their three-and-a-half-year running streak because they have a stress fracture in their foot. I don’t know if I would be as strong as he was. So even though I told them they needed to stop running, I struggled to think if I could do it myself.
I just assumed my body would break down. Something outside of my control would happen. But, of course, I didn’t plan for this; there’s no reason to continue.
This hit me in the face when my 14-year-old ended his three-and-a-half-year running streak.
During an ultimate frisbee tournament, I saw him cover his face in pain. He kept running, and his foot continue to hurt. He was limping when he walked. It wasn’t until an orthopedist said they saw healing from a stress fracture and irritation to the growth plate that they stopped.
Could I have done the same? I don’t know.
My friend who challenged me to run 100 days in a row recently challenged me to stop my streak.
The second challenge is much more testing.
